1. Field
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a visual communication server and a communication system, capable of implementing a visual communication function by, for example, an existing telephone system and an existing computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, client software for television conference has been installed in computers, a system capable of easily and simply constructing a television conference mode in combination with telephones equipped with a speech function for television conference (visual communication system: hereinafter called VCS) has appeared. In such a television conference system of the mode in which the client software for television conference is installed in computers, the telephones need to be connected to computers, respectively, i.e. the telephones need to be prepared, at high costs.
Then, there is an idea of utilizing an existing telephone system which has been upgraded as infrastructure.
As for the prior art of utilizing an existing telephone system, for example, a technique of notifying a client terminal with notification of an incoming call of an extension telephone by associating a private branch exchange with a server, has been disclosed (for example, refer to Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-240656).
According to the prior art, however, the server has only a function of repeating the notification of an incoming call of an extension telephone to the client terminal, and only speech conversation is subjected to communications. For this reason, to implement a speech and image-communications function, either of the above-explained television conference systems needs to be installed and, as a result, they can hardly be utilized due to high costs.